Everyone from the twelfth were still talking about the fact that the vice headmaster's son had lost his fight before the next match appeared on the screens.
The arena fell silent as the two combatants stepped onto the platform.
Academy 12's champion took his position. Lucas Grey, the number one of the twelfth, wore a sleeveless combat gear with dark blue with silver accents tracing circuit-like patterns. The fabric humd with level 3 beast nanoscopic insulation fibers, specially designed to channel rather than resist his electrical output. His expression remained neutral, almost bored, as he flexed his fingers once and planted his feet.
Across from him stood Academy 9's pride. Caelum Rhys moved with fluid grace, his movents almost ethereal. His gear was slate gray with swirling cyan patterns—rippled slightly despite the absence of any breeze. Lean and tall, he carried himself with quiet confidence rather than arrogance. Unlike most who faced Lucas, there was no nervous energy, no hesitation—only focus.
This was the semifinals and the year 3 students were out in style.
The stands were packed to capacity. After Lucas's previous performance, security had tripled the reinforcent on the specialized arena. Energy dampening fields humd at double capacity, creating a shimring do above the combat zone. The ground beneath them had been reconstructed with advanced composite materials—three tis the normal thickness.
"Seems they're worried about you," Caelum noted, his voice carrying across the space between them, soft yet sohow crystal clear.
Lucas's mouth quirked in a half-smile. "Aren't you? They are for good reasons,"
Commander Owen of Academy 12 leaned forward in the VIPs' box. "This should be interesting," he murmured to Commander Yuen of Academy 9, who sat beside him. "Your Rhys has been climbing the rankings rapidly this sester."
Yuen nodded, her sharp eyes focused on her student. "He's different from your Grey. Less raw power, perhaps, but..." She tapped her temple. "Precision where it counts."
The referee stood between the combatants. "Semifinal match of the Eastern Cardinal Championship. Lucas Grey of Academy 12 versus Caelum Rhys of Academy 9." He paused, scanning both fighters. "Both competitors cleared for combat. Standard tournant rules apply. Victory by surrender, incapacitation, or ring-out."
The energy barriers intensified, causing the air to hum with potential.
"Begin in three... two... one..."
The holographic referee disappeared.
Neither fighter moved.
For three full seconds, they simply observed each other, the crowd's anticipatory murmurs fading into background noise.
Lucas broke the stillness first—vanishing in a blur of motion, closing half the distance before most eyes could track him.
But Caelum was ready.
Caelum pivoted with impossible grace, his body twisting as jets of compressed air erupted from his palms and heels. The maneuver sent him spiraling five ters upward, narrowly avoiding Lucas's opening strike. He completed a full rotation midair, both hands sweeping down.
Tempest Waltz: Initial Movent - A precision burst of compressed air from specific points around the body, creating controlled montum and guided trajectory while conserving energy for sustained aerial combat.
Twin invisible blades sliced through the space Lucas had just occupied. They struck the arena floor with barely a whisper, leaving two perfectly curved gashes in the reinforced material.
This technique, he referred to as the:
Vacuum Edge: Crescent Form - he basically compressed air into a paper-thin cutting plane, moving just below the speed of sound. The vacuum created in its wake increases cutting power by pulling matter toward the edge.
Lucas's eyes narrowed. He hadn't seen the attack—he'd felt the air pressure shift. Electrical energy surged through his body, accelerating his nervous system. He leapt backward, electricity arcing from his fingertips in a defensive pattern.
The electrical discharge ford a sh barrier before him.
The next three Vacuum Edges shattered against the electric field, the collision creating miniature thunderclaps. But Lucas noticed sothing concerning—the fourth edge actually penetrated partially through his defense before dissolving.
'He's calibrating,' Lucas realized. 'Testing the electrical resistance of his attacks.'
In the faculty section, instructor rritt of Academy 5 leaned toward her colleague. "Did you see that? Rhys is adapting his air density on the fly."
"Grey's lightning screen doesn't usually get penetrated," her colleague replied, voice tight with surprise.
Caelum landed in a crouch, then imdiately launched himself sideways as a bolt of lightning struck where he'd been standing. The arena floor blackened, but remarkably, didn't crater—evidence of the enhanced materials.
The air around Caelum began to shimr slightly, like heat rising from pavent. Lucas fired three more lightning strikes in rapid succession, each one adjusting for Caelum's movent. Yet each bolt behaved strangely—wavering mid-flight, their trajectories bending unpredictably.
What he didn't know was that Caelum was more than responsible for it.
Pressure Veil: Ambient Field - A continuous, modulating pressure differential surrounding the user. Disrupts directional attacks and creates subtle distortion effects that make precise targeting difficult.
Two missed entirely. The third grazed Caelum's shoulder, singing his gear but causing minimal damage.
"Interesting," Lucas said, genuine curiosity in his voice. "You're warping the path of my lightning."
Caelum didn't waste breath responding. His hands blurred through a complex pattern, fingers spreading and contracting.
Six invisible cutting edges materialized around him, rotating like satellites. With a flick of his wrist, three launched toward Lucas while the others continued their orbit.
Vacuum Edge: Orbital Array - Multiple compressed air blades maintained in rotational patterns around the user. Can be launched sequentially or simultaneously, creating unpredictable attack vectors from multiple directions.
Lucas didn't retreat this ti. His body flickered with blue-white energy as he charged directly into the attack. At the last possible mont, he spun, electricity coating his form in a spiral pattern.
The rotating electrical field intercepted the vacuum blades, creating a spectacular collision of energies. The audience gasped as miniature shock waves rippled outward.
Lucas erged through the disturbance, closing to striking distance. His fist, wreathed in crackling energy, shot toward Caelum's chest—
Only to pass through empty air as Caelum's body seed to blur backward.
Pressure Veil: Repulsion Burst - This was Concentrated, instantaneous expansion of air pressure in a specific direction, creating trendous pushing force without visible indication.
"He didn't dodge—he pushed himself away with air pressure!" soone shouted from the stands.
Lucas pressed his advantage, not allowing Caelum to create distance. Electricity surged through his legs, propelling him forward with explosive speed. His attacks ca in blinding succession—jabs, crosses, and kicks flowing together in destructive harmony.
Caelum t each strike with precise movents, air currents swirling around his limbs to redirect force rather than block it directly. Where Lucas was raw power and speed, Caelum was economy and precision.
A lightning-enhanced kick grazed Caelum's ribs, electricity coursing through his side. He grimaced but didn't falter, responding with a palm strike that released a concentrated burst of compressed air.
The impact caught Lucas squarely in the chest, launching him backward. He flipped mid-air, landing on his feet with a shower of sparks. For the first ti, genuine surprise registered on his face.
"That actually hurt," he admitted, rolling his shoulder.
Caelum allowed himself a small nod. "Good."
In the VIP box, Commander Yuen smiled thinly. "Most fighters try to avoid Grey's lightning. Caelum is engaging directly."
"Bold strategy," Commander Owen replied, his expression carefully neutral.
The two combatants circled each other. Lucas's electrical aura intensified, the air around him ionizing visibly. Caelum's movents beca more fluid, the air currents around him creating faint whistling sounds as they accelerated.
Then they clashed again.
Lucas unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts, each one more powerful than anything he'd thrown in his previous match. The air filled with the sll of ozone and the crackling of electrical discharge.
Caelum swept his arms in circular patterns. Invisible barriers of manipulated air ford before him, not blocking the lightning but altering its path. Several bolts dissipated completely as they entered zones where Caelum had temporarily removed oxygen. Others curved wildly, striking the reinforced walls of the ring.
Oxygen Lock: Dispersal Field - Rapid manipulation of oxygen concentration in targeted areas, creating montary zones of near-vacuum that disrupt combustion and electrical conductivity.
"Impossible," muttered a professor from Academy 3. "He's creating localized vacuum zones faster than Grey can adjust his attacks."
"No wonder he's Academy 9's number one," another responded.
Caelum didn't wait for Lucas to refine his approach. He launched himself forward, his body becoming a blur of motion as he engaged the Tempest Waltz at full power.
Tempest Waltz: Spiral Ascendance - Advanced aerial montum technique combining rotational force with vertical thrust. Creates disorienting spiral patterns while building kinetic energy for devastating strikes.
His body beca the center of a localized windstorm, spinning and striking from multiple angles with dizzying speed. Each movent fed into the next, air jets propelling his limbs with escalating force.
Lucas countered with his own speed, electricity amplifying his reflexes beyond human limits. Their exchange beca nearly impossible to follow—blurs of motion punctuated by flashes of lightning and concussive air bursts.
"They're fighting at speeds that would tear normal humans apart," Commander Owen comnted, professional assessnt temporarily overriding his partisan support.
Commander Yuen nodded. "Third-year capabilities at their finest."
A particularly vicious exchange sent both fighters skidding to opposite sides of the ring. Lucas's gear showed tears in several places, thin cuts visible on his exposed skin. Caelum's breathing had beco more labored, and his right sleeve was blackened from electrical burns.
"You're holding back," Caelum observed, straightening his posture.
Lucas tilted his head. "So are you."
A mont of understanding passed between them—acknowledgnt of mutual respect and the recognition that the real fight was only beginning.
"Let's stop warming up then." Lucas's voice carried an edge of anticipation. The electrical field around him intensified dramatically, no longer just arcs but continuous cascades of energy that made the air warp and distort.
Caelum responded by raising both hands. The atmosphere in the entire arena seed to shift—pressure dropping noticeably as he gathered his power.
Pressure Veil: Absolute Domain - Complete atmospheric control within a defined radius. Enables simultaneous manipulation of pressure, density, and composition of air, creating a battlefield that responds to the user's will.
"This is why he's our number one," Commander Yuen said with quiet pride.
User Comments
0 comments from readers